Apparatus for drying leather



.C. A.-BECHSTEIN AND E. E.'KORN|TZ.

APPARATUS 'FOR DRYING LEATHER.

AFPLlCATION FILED AU G.6, I920.

Patented Dec;

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ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

CARL A. BECHSTEIN AND EWALD E. KORNITZ,;OF .MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIltT.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING LEATHER.

Application filed August 6, 1920. Serial Np. 401,683.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CARL A. BEOHSTEIN and EWALD. E. KoRNrrz, citizens I of the United States, and residents of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Drying Leather, of which the followingis a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a paIt of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in apparatus for dryin skins and leather.

it is the present custom, in drying sklns or leather, to stretch the same updn a backing or board, and attach it thereto by nails or. v

other fasteners. This method is unsatisfactory as the skin or leather is not evenly stretched, and, furthermore, consumes an unusual long time in the stretching thereof. Hence, with the above and other objections in mind, this invention has for one of its .objects to provide a frame upon which a skin or leather may be readilyattached, and then evenly drawn taut toproperly stretch the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a frame for stretchin j leather, preferably of perforated material,- whereby the skin may be easily attached thereto and the perforations provide ventilating means forthoroughly drying the skin. 7 v

A further object of this invention is to provide an expansible frame including a pluralit of sections having means for simultaneous y adjusting each section.

A still further object of this inventionis to provide a leather drying frame which will be efiicient in .operation, and practical for the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, our invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such openings to' assist in changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, we have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of our invention constructed according to the best mode we have so 'far devised for the practical application of the principlesthereof, and in which: Fig. 1 is a view looking at the top side of our improved expans'ible frame, a skin being I shown-in dotted lines as attached thereto, and parts bein broken away to illustrate structural. details Fig. 2 is a view similarto Fig. 1 of a slightly modified form of expansible frame; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental view of a portion of the screen illustrating one manner of securing a skin thereto; v Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating our invention as in use in connection with a toggle, the togglehaving parts broken awFay and in section; and

i 5 is a top plan view of the to le illus ated in Fig. 4 bb Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 6 designates genframe preferably members 9 engaged therein along its edges as depicted in Fig. 3, when the skin is stretched as much as possible by the human hand, and the ends 8 of the hooks engaged in the adjacent apertures 7. When the skin has been thus placed upon the frame 6, the various sections thereof are expanded to draw the leather taut for drying, the apertures 7 across the back of the leather providing ventilating the thorough drying of the leather.

In-that form of our inventiondepicted in Fig. 1, the frame is formed in two sections, each section including a long frame portion 12 and a shorter' frame portion 13, the portion 13 being readily slidably mounted be tween the upper extended ends 14 of the side bars or frame members 15 of the portion 12. One of the frame sections has the top and bottom frame members 16 thereof extended to provide means for slidably connecting the other frame sections thereto, and said frame members pass through bearing portions 17 formed on the extreme ends of the frame members 141 of said other section.

With this construction, the frame sections are permitted a movement toward and away from each other, and the portions 12'and 13 are permitted a movement toward and away from each other in a direction opposed to that of the frame sections. The frame sections and the frame portions are simultaneously moved in their various directions by jack-screw means now about to be described.

Having one end journalled as at'18 in the outer frame member 15 of one section of the frame 6, is a screw shaft 19 which extends across the back of the frame and has its other threaded end 20 engaged in a nut member 21 secured to the outermost frame member 15 of the other section. Theshaft 17 has its journalled end providedwith a handle or crank 22 whereby the same may be rotated to cause the sections to be moved toward and away from each other by reason of the threaded connection between the shafts and the nut 21.

Each portion 13 is'provided with a transverse brace 23 parallel with the shaft 19 and in which are journalled the lower ends of shafts 24.- having their upper ends 25 threaded and engaged in nuts 26 carried by the upper ends of the portions 13. Secured to the lower ends of the shafts 24 are bevelled gears 27 meshing with bevelled gears 28 carried by the shaft 19, whereby the rotation of the shaft 19 to expand the frame sections will also expand the portions 13 as will be readily understood. i

' The gear 28 meshing with the gear 27 carried by the frame section mounted on the member 16, has a slidable but non-rotatable connection with the shaft 19 to permit the free adjustment of the frame section without breaking the connection between said gear.

In Fig. 2, we have illustrated a slightly modified construction of frame member formed in four complementary sections 29 having the side frame members 30 thereof slidably connected together. The corner bracket member 31 of each section has. an inwardly extending internally threaded socket member 32 in which is engaged the outer threaded end 33 of a jack-shaft 34'. The jack-shafts have their inner ends journalled as at 35 in bearings formed on a a sence spider member 36, and two of the axially alined shafts 34 are formed in one.

J ournalled in the spider 36 is an operating shaft, (not shown) which carries a main bevelled gear 37 for mesh with small bevelled gears 38 carried by a jack-shaft 34, the two shafts formed in one having but one gear 38.

tion 13 formed on the frame portion of the.

toggle proper, and a clamping member 44 pivotally carried thereby. Each toggle member has an apertured end 45 in which is engaged the end 46 of a hook 9 opposite its end 8,

What we claim as our invention is:

1. Apparatus of the class describedcomprising a plurality of sectional frames, means adapted to maintain said frames in a means on said frames to which a hide or the like may be secured, and means adapted to effect a relative movemnet between said frames including a driving member and individual shafts operatively connected to said driving member and the respective frames.

2. An apparatus of the character described, comprising two parallel frames, means connecting the frames for transverse movement toward andaway from each other and adapted to maintain the same in a comcommon plane and in a slidable relationship,

mon plane, an auxiliary section carried by each frame, means adapted to maintain each auxiliary section in a common plane with its adjacent frame and in a slidable relationship longitudinally toward and away from its frame, and means for effectin relative movement between the frames an auxiliary sections.

3. An apparatus of the character described, comprising two parallel frames,

transverse guides extended laterally from I I.

the ends of one frame, means carried by the ends of the other frame and slidably engaging the guides to connect the frames in a common plane for transverse movement toward and away from each other, longitudinal guides carried by one end of each frame, an auxiliary section carried by each frame and slidable between the guides thereof, and means for effecting relative movement between the frames and auxiliary sections.

4. An apparatus of the character described, comprising two parallel frames, transverse guides extended laterally from the ends of one frame, means carried by the ends of the other frame and slidably engaging the guides to connect the frames in a common plane for transverse movement toward and away from each other, longitudinal guidescarried by oneend' of each frame,

an auxiliary section carried by each frame 'tures. j

means for effecting simultaneous longitudinal movement of the auxiliary sectlons and transverse movement of the frames,

In testimony whereof, "we aflixour s1gna- CARL A. BECHSTEINl V awaiinn. Konmrz. 

